A Black Cat, a Fox, and One Hell of a Story
by Grekkikay
Summary: Some strange jutsu is put on Naruto and Sasuke, turning them each into animals! What would happen with their newfound animalism? NONYAOI; friendship and angst are PROMINENT. Rated T for swearing and violence.
1. What the hell? Why are we ANIMALS?

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto.

**Author's Note: **WELL. X3 This takes some explaining, does it? BAHAHA. Um, anyway, I _am _working on A New Childhood and I am planning on updating Walking Backward some time. Unfortunately, One Character, Another Story is still on hiatus – I'm still thinking up ideas for it. Anyway, this is just a random idea that popped in my head from watching/reading too many of these stupid animal things; I'm gonna see if I can do better than everyone else! _(mischievous smile)_

Let's be aware of this – this is categorized under "Friendship" instead of "Romance" for a _reason_. Though there may be times that seem like yaoi between Naruto and Sasuke, it is _not_. Remember people, I believe in the difference between _gay love _and _brotherly love_, and this is _brotherly love_. So please don't go telling me, "OH MY GOD THAT'S NOT A PAIRING IN THE ANIME!" or "OH GOD NOT ANOTHER SASUNARU FAN FICTION!" or even "MORE SASUNARU PLZ!" Geez, it's getting on my freaking _nerves_! First of all, to the "OH MY GOD THAT'S NOT A PAIRING..." crap, I never said it was a pairing. I'm not making a SasuNaru pairing here; it is intended to be brotherly, and here's some news for you – it does actually say in the anime that they have a brotherly relationship. So there.

And let me remind you, there will be no romance here other than what is described in the anime. If you want my relationships to be unrealistic in accordance to the anime, then look at A New Childhood. Don't bother looking here or at One Character, Another Story.

And, breathe a sigh of relief – there are _no _OC's (at least, if there are, only like two) in this one. Happy now!?

Fan fiction is rated T for violence and for cursing.

**Speech: **"When any character talks". _"When there's either multiple people talking, or when it's a flashback, or, if it isn't either, it's someone talking in another language (animal speak ftw)"_. _Thoughts, or flashbacks_. Any word that is _italicized _specifically is emphasized. **"Kyuubi is speaking"**. **_Kyuubi is thinking_**. _'Naruto is talking directly to Kyuubi'_. "**Naruto is speaking, but he sounds like Kyuubi**". I never make any words bold if I want to emphasize them – emphasis is only on italicized or fully capitalized words. Any words that are in thoughts or italicized speech that are emphasized are emphasized by removing the italics.

--

_A Black Cat, a Fox, And One Hell of a Story_

_Chapter The First.:._

_What the hell!? Why are we _animals_!?_

The awakening of Sasuke caused much chaos today.

Namely, because he was _small_, for one. Second, he was _furry_. Third, he was a freaking _animal_.

Oh joy to the world.

Sasuke felt himself going into the familiar stretch that he did every morning in that empty room. He noticed something odd – the bed seemed bigger than it usually was. Not taking it to mind, Sasuke leaped off of the bed, but he should've felt something odd then – first, the genius could recall that he had jumped off _on all fours_, which, ya know, is something a human usually wouldn't do. (Sorry to people who crawl and stuff, though.) Second of all, he landed squarely on those very hands and feet. Third, his bed was freaking taller than him.

But, unfortunately, the renowned rookie of team seven paid little mind to such trivial matters. It didn't really matter to him as he padded through, still on his hands and feet, still on all fours. Now, ordinarily, you'd expect someone to notice that they were walking on all fours. Sasuke didn't pay any attention, however; it felt natural. You know how natural it feels after you learn to walk, actually walking? Yeah, that's how it felt. For some reason, he wasn't able to know why the _hell _he was shorter, or why he was even walking on all fours. He just kept walking through the empty house.

It had been empty for quite a few years now. The thirteen-year-old was now used to the loneliness. His family had been killed by Itachi naught more than six years ago (when he was seven, for those of you with bad math), so he had been alone for quite a while now, and he was sort of used to it. He still had quite an anger for Itachi, but now it had settled down to the point where he was more focused on more important issues such as staying alive and getting along as a ninja.

When Sasuke reached the door of his room, _goddammit, he had left it closed the night before,_ he couldn't open it, and for some reason couldn't reach the knob. When he could reach the doorknob, his hand slipped, and for some reason, he wasn't able to clench it. That's when he realized something was odd. At first, Sasuke thought it was about the room, looking around at how freaking _large _it was. Then again, it looked the same other than its huge size.

Then he realized, remembered that he had walked on all fours, that he apparently had no _thumbs_, that he had leaped out of the bed by reflex other than by want or necessity. The problem was not his room, not the surroundings. The problem was _him_.

Bewildered by this sudden realization, the normally-emotionless kid looked all about him, and couldn't stifle a gasp. Looking down, he saw not hands, but _paws_, and not only were they paws, but they were black as well, and covered with _fur_. Sasuke looked to his back, and saw a tail moving around on its own accord, having no orders from its master on moving intentionally. _He had a tail!? _He finally scrambled back to his bed, and then dug under the covers for something. He finally found what he was looking for – a mirror. He put it on the bed, and then examined the reflection that it gave. No doubt he was unpleasantly surprised, when he saw that other than his eyes, everything had changed. _What the hell? How the fuck did I become a cat!?_

--

The bridge let the breeze tickle it without a care. Wind was fast approaching and told of a storm, but the wind did whisper honestly, _"Not today, I say. The storm comes soon, bridge. Not today, though." _The clouds seem to respond to this in agonizing protest as they backed away from the sun, allowing it to shine its rays once more onto the lonely bridge. The stream below it bubbled in delight at the bright sunshine, and the bridge sparkled beautifully in approval. Even though it was old, it still shone like as if it was newer than the village of Konoha itself.

Nature's talk with each other was interrupted by the _pit _of somebody's sandals, preferably the pink-haired girl's. She walked over onto the bridge, but unlike stairs or other wooden things, the bridge did not let out a groan. It was strong enough to hold humans without so much difficulty. Not that it really mattered. "Kaka-sensei! Naruto! Sasuke-kun!" called out the girl, apparently waiting for people to come along.

Suddenly, a swoop announced the arrival of a silver-haired mask-faced man, who stood not too far away from the girl. His single eye that was visible contained no emotion and he looked quite aloof. His Konoha headband lay lazily over his other eye, hiding it from the world. Behind that headband contained a closed Sharingan, which didn't move since its master did not order it to move, as of yet at least. "Hello, Sakura," he said, his voice not containing anything but sheer welcome in it. He leaned against the railings of the bridge. The bridge uttered not a word of protest. "Hey, sorry I'm late, I..."

"You're not as late as Sasuke-kun and Naruto," Sakura, the pink-hair girl, said in reply, looking nonchalant, but obviously boiling inside. _What was taking them so damn long!?_

"Hm, that's odd," the man, Kakashi, said in reply, putting a hand to his chin and pondering over it. "I would think they would both be eager to train, Sasuke wanting to become strong enough to show that he isn't what everyone thinks he is, and then Naruto... the one who wants to become Hokage, obviously."

The sound of paws grabbed both Kakashi's and Sakura's attention, so much so, that they looked down... and were staring at the furry face of a black cat. However, that black cat was carrying a Konoha headband, obviously trying to tell them something.

"A cat appearing where Sasuke usually appears?" Kakashi asked. "Naw, that can't be just coincidence." He noticed that the cat was obviously trying to signal to the headband it was carrying in its jaws. Finally, it dropped the Konoha headband and glanced up into Kakashi's eye with his own black eyes, normally emotionless, now panicked. Kakashi knew those eyes for sure. "Mm, how'd that happen to you?"

_"Ugh, do you think I know?" _Sasuke meowed, but he knew it was useless to try to get them to understand him. He was a cat now; he couldn't speak English. Only other creatures could understand him. Which makes his day _even better_.

"What's wrong, Kaka-sensei?" Sakura asked, looking at the cat. "Looks like some ordinary cat to me."

_"Dammit, Sakura," _Sasuke cursed. Sasuke was glad, however, that he was able to curse here now; he couldn't be caught for it, either, since nobody understood a word he said.

"This is Sasuke, Sakura," Kakashi said. He was rewarded at first with a disbelieving stare.

Followed by Sakura squealing, picking up Sasuke, and then hugging him tightly. The cat winced, hating now that Sakura could easily hug him. Finally, angry at this affection he was receiving, he took out his claws, and immediately put them to use as weapons. He scratched Sakura's face, scrambling out of it, while Sakura tried to prevent her scratch wounds from bleeding. Kakashi grimaced.

"Don't do that, Sasuke," Kakashi scolded, and he was met by a fierce stare from Sasuke. Kakashi's gaze was unwavering, however.

_"What? The brat had it comin'," _was Sasuke's honest reply. Kakashi, even though not understanding cat speech, rolled his eyes, knowing exactly what Sasuke said. Just 'cause, you know, he knew Sasuke.

"Whether or not you think she deserved it, you still shouldn't do that," Kakashi once again said. He was met once again by a fierce stare from Sasuke.

Sakura had tears swimming in her eyes. _Why does Sasuke-kun hate me so much? _she asked herself, saddened by his behavior. _I mean, I didn't do anything, I..._

All of them were interrupted by a terrified mewl that sounded exactly like a fox.

--

For some reason, Sasuke knew for sure, he knew exactly where the mewl had come from and who had said it. How he had this instinct, no one knew. For the location, it was probably predictable with his newly found heightened sense of hearing. However, for the who, nobody knew for sure. Perhaps it was because he could hear the tone of Naruto's voice in that mewl.

Nonetheless, nothing caused him to hesitate in running directly toward the source of the noise – toward a river in the forest. Sakura and Kakashi were in tow, even though they knew it was probably a bad idea to interfere, and plus, they had no idea where Sasuke was heading.

Sasuke's paws touched the bank of the fast-flowing river, sinking slightly in the mud that covered it. He was careful not to step into the river directly other than skim over some of the water. He didn't know for sure whether or not he could use his chakra so he could just walk over the water, but since Naruto was being dragged by the water, and of course perhaps even intentionally, he knew that it was highly unlikely that he would be able to use even a little bit of his chakra. He probably had so little now that he was small; his chakra was only enough to keep him alive.

And there he saw it.

A bobbing head appeared in the water, black paws surfacing to try to grip something outside of the water's surface. Ears were flung back and clustered right on the little kit's head in a frightened manner. The nose was shoved to the bank, trying to touch it. Sasuke could see terror clearly written on his face, especially when he opened his eyes, and then he caught the sight of those familiar light blue eyes – the eyes that he had grown quite accustomed to, especially now that Naruto was on his team.

Without warning, Sasuke dashed for the place in which Naruto was floating in the river, and, cautiously, but quickly, trying not to fall into the river but also trying to catch Naruto in time, Sasuke extended his neck and gently enclosed his teeth around Naruto's scruff. He backed away, trying his best to stay on the bank, and was dismayed to know that Sakura and Kakashi weren't even lending a hand. He dug his claws into the bank to make sure that he stayed on it, and then slowly, backed away from the rushing water, pulling on Naruto with all his might. Finally, he felt the boy's tail touch the bank, and finally, he let go of Naruto's scruff.

The fox opened his eyes again, lifting to his black paws, fright the first thing that Sasuke could see in those cerulean eyes. The fox blinked, and then dragged himself further out of the bank and onto solid grass, before finally slumping down again. He looked like he wanted to get all the sopping wetness from him, but unfortunately he was too tired even to get back up from the dragging.

_"Hey, dobe."_

The fox turned his eyes to Sasuke. Surprisingly, he recognized immediately it was his best friend; it was probably because he had called him "dobe". _"Th-Thanks for saving me, Sasuke," _he whispered, his little fox voice thoroughly shaken. It was quite obvious. _"Wh-Why are y-you a bl-black cat, by th-the way?"_

_"How the fuck should I know?" _Sasuke rolled his black eyes. _"And I'm guessing you don't know why you're a fox, either."_

The fox simply shook his head.

"Hey, Sasuke, who is that?" Kakashi asked, coming over to the little black cat-used-to-be-ninja-thing. He patted Sasuke's head, which made the cat, in turn, growl. His eye upturned in an obvious smile. "I know you wouldn't rescue some random stranger from a river, right?"

Sakura came over, following Kakashi.

Sasuke felt rage looking at Kakashi and Sakura as they seemed so _indifferent _to the plight that Naruto had just been in that Sasuke had to drag him in by himself. _"Why the hell didn't you help!?" _he asked them furiously, before realizing that they couldn't understand him, anyway. _"Shit."_

Sakura looked over the fox, suspicious of it. "How the heck did a fox get trapped into a river? I thought foxes were smart about those things."

_"Not Naruto," _Sasuke said simply. The fox scowled at him. Sakura and Kakashi didn't notice.

"I'm thinking that this is Naruto," Kakashi finally decided. Relief washed over Sasuke, knowing now that he didn't have to try to explain to people, who now didn't even understand him anymore. "And Sasuke knew it from the beginning, or else he wouldn't have saved him from the river."

"That explains it," Sakura decided. She looked at the fox, Naruto. "Man, but does he look so pitiful. I guess it's to be expected from floating in a river, that's as fast-moving as this one."

"Why was he even near a river, anyway?" Kakashi asked, knowing he wouldn't understand the answer, but still gazing at Naruto curiously.

Suddenly, Naruto did something that unpleasantly surprised all three of the people he worked with. The little fox made it to his feet, and was coughing a lot. It was true that a lot of his coughs were simply going to get the water out of his lungs, but some of the coughing dumped blood onto the ground. The fox then lay back down, not minding that his head was on top of some of said blood. He was used to the touch and scent of it. It didn't make him uncomfortable anymore.

_"Naruto, are you all right?" _Sasuke asked, his voice showing obvious concern. He didn't bother to hide it; he mostly hid it from Kakashi and Sakura, anyway, and since they couldn't understand him, there was no reason to hide his emotions.

_"I was running away from someone," _the fox said weakly, having a hard time keeping from stammering. He certainly stammered at the next thing he said. _"N-No... if I-I had s-stayed... th-they would've killed me. It w-was as if th-they knew who I w-was, even though I-I'm a fox right n-now."_

Kakashi didn't understand what he said, but he was obviously just as concerned as everyone else was, except for Sasuke, whose concern had escalated. "I think we should take you to Tsunade and sort this out," said Kakashi, with no hint of doubt in his speech. Good guess why not.

"I agree," Sakura said softly. Even though she hated how idiotic he was, she couldn't help but be concerned.

Sasuke was frozen at the news that he had heard from Naruto. Then he did an action that Kakashi and Sakura didn't expect him to. He nosed Naruto in a concerned manner, then lay down next to him, in a protective manner. _"Who? Who were you running away from?" _he asked, his voice completely serious.

_"A-A villager..."_

_"What villager!? Who was he!?"_

_"I don't know, okay!" _Naruto hid his face with his paw. Sakura and Kakashi picked up that they were obviously having a very serious discussion.

Sasuke sighed, if a cat can sigh. He nudged Naruto again with his nose. _"Please don't hide your face," _he meowed wisely. _"It's not going to help you, and if you tell me something, I won't hear your words. I want to know, honestly, as much as I can. I know this is hard for you to believe, Naruto," _he paused a bit at that, having sad thoughts about how Naruto was treated now, _"but I am here to help you, not to hinder or hurt you. But if you don't want to tell me, I understand." _He then stood up, and looked over to Kakashi. The look on his face said it all: _Go ahead and take him. _He then spoke again, directly at Naruto again. _"But never mind that for now; it isn't very important." _His voice was sincere, no sign of joking at all in it. _"You need to be treated immediately. Plus, Tsunade-sama needs to tell us a plan for the both of us. We can't go on as animals without somebody to look after us. We can't defend ourselves like this."_

Now, Sasuke was expecting some sort of snap or whimper from Naruto. However, when he turned back to the fox-kid, he instead had eyes filled with understanding, as well as regret for being so blind. Nonetheless, Sasuke grimaced. It was obvious he knew hardly anything about people who wanted to help him, because most people did want to inflict harm on him, even though he was training to be a shinobi, even now. Naruto nodded, trying to lift to his paws again. Sasuke walked back over to Naruto and put a paw on Naruto's head, telling him to lie back down again. _"No, don't stand up," _he meowed. Naruto obeyed, but his eyes looked confused. Sasuke sighed and explained. _"You don't want to push yourself anymore than you have. If you were running away from somebody, then obviously your feet – er, paws must be tired. Just rest. I'm sure Kakashi will take you to Tsunade-sama, no problem."_

And, just as Sasuke had predicted, Kakashi scooped up the little used-to-be-boy-now-a-fox and headed to Tsunade, with the used-to-be-boy-now-a-cat and the pink-haired girl in tow. Nobody spoke for a while; Naruto was too tired, Sakura had nothing to say, Kakashi never really struck up conversations, and Sasuke was too concerned with Naruto's wellbeing.

--

Let's just say the last thing Tsunade needed was a species change in her shinobi.

"_NANI!?_" she exclaimed. "What did you do _now!?_" Her hand was over Naruto's back as she tried to heal the – now literally – fox boy.

_"We didn't do anything," _Naruto mewed, but to no avail. Tsunade couldn't understand a word he said.

_"Naruto, we can't plead our innocence like this," _Sasuke meowed, licking his black paw and then swiping it over his ears. _"They can't understand a word we say. We will only have one-sided conversations with them. We can only talk fully to each other." _He walked over to the little fox, sticking his cat tongue out. _"Dobe."_

_"Teme, you do know foxes hunt cats, right?" _Naruto asked, smirking. He was met by an unpleasant scowl by Sasuke. The little fox snickered. _"So I suggest you don't test your luck."_

_"You're lucky I can't perform any jutsu or I'd Chidori your smug face," _Sasuke spat, turning around and sitting with his back to Naruto. _"I guess you're happy that you've had so much luck, in and out of battles. No wonder you're a fox, lucky bastard."_

_"If I had good luck, I'd be _dead _by now."_

Sasuke froze. Did he just _hear _those negative words, especially from _Naruto_? He looked over at his friend's face and searched through him and the words he just said to find any hint of joking. He felt himself go numb as he realized that sentence had been very serious. He decided not to press the matter – Naruto would tell him why he thought that when he was ready. Instead, he fell silent and listened to the others speak amongst each other, completely oblivious to the conversation he and Naruto had.

"I think he's done healing," Tsunade announced, her voice notably calmer. She took her hand off Naruto's back. Naruto got up and padded over to Sasuke, sitting next to him and listening into their conversation as Sasuke was. Tsunade looked at Sakura and Kakashi, then spoke again. "I'll alert other teams on this mystery. Kakashi, you gather the elite shinobi and find a cure. Sakura, you'll be their guardian. You may gather some other Genins to help you." Tsunade leaned back in her chair and flicked her hand in a dismissive manner.

Kakashi nodded, jumping to the window and then disappearing. Sakura scooped up Sasuke, obviously favoring carrying him over Naruto, and signaled with her head for Naruto to follow.

_"Ugh, Sakura-chan, my paws were bleeding not too long ago!" _Naruto pleaded. Sasuke looked a little sympathetic, albeit he hated Naruto's begging. _"Why can't you carry me, too?" _But instead of complaining more, the little fox chased after her as she left the building.

--

Sakura was busy fixing food in cans for Naruto and Sasuke (though she put more effort into Sasuke's bowl) while the two of them stayed in the living room of her house. Dark clouds were gathering outside, and the wind whistled, _"Sorry, couldn't keep my promise," _furiously in preparation of the oncoming storm. But nobody noticed its words.

Sasuke certainly was bored as hell.

_"Dammit, I wish I could train," _Sasuke hissed, obviously considering this silence very unpleasant.

What was weird was that Naruto was completely silent, but his ears were erect, as if listening to something. He was curled up on the couch, eyes closed, paws aching. One would assume he was asleep if not for his breathing, which wasn't as deep as it would be if he _were _asleep. Little did Sasuke know he was talking to the fox sealed inside him.

**"So, how's it like being a fox, kid?" **the Kyuubi asked in his mind, staring at the little fox with one eye.

_'Not fun,' _Naruto moaned in complaint. _'Can't even talk to anyone.'_

**"Wrong," **the fox growled, catching the much smaller fox by surprise. After gazing at Kyuubi curiously, the bijuu decided to continue. **"You can talk to the Uchiha. Cats and foxes understand each other. Their languages are quite alike."**

_'Yeah, I know _that_,' _Naruto replied irately. _'But he isn't that talkative.'_

**"I'm sure you could get a word or two out of him."**

_'Yeah, and how?'_

**"Don't ask me; **_**you're **_**the one he's talked to more lately."**

Naruto sighed, which could actually be heard by Sasuke. And it did. _'Thanks for the help,' _he mewed irritably at Kyuubi, unafraid of the bijuu. He had a hard time resisting rolling his eyes in front of Sasuke.

The Kyuubi grinned. **"You have four feet to stand on, not just two, now." **He curled into a sleeping position within the seal. **"You don't need eight."**

Surprisingly, Naruto understood the message in these words. And it annoyed him. _'Ah, shut up, you damn fox.' _And that ended their little conversation, leading Naruto back to the world outside his mind... where Sasuke was staring at him.

_"What the hell were you doing?" _he asked, tilting his head to the side curiously. _"You completely zoned out."_

Naruto backed away, the sudden proximity frightening him. After gaining his wit about him, he glared at Sasuke. _"Don't sneak up on me when I'm talking to someone else."_

Sasuke already knew who this "someone else" was. _"Don't know why you'd rather talk to that ancient bijuu than me," _said Sasuke, amused. _"What'd he say?"_

_"Nothing important," _Naruto yawned, his jaw stretching really far. He lifted to his paws after he had fallen backward from the startle of Sasuke, stretching luxuriously. _"I wanna go outside."_

_"Then go, dobe," _Sasuke sighed, curling up where Naruto used to be a few moments ago. _"I think I'll sleep now. I'm really tired."_

Naruto gave a (literally) foxy grin. _"All right, have a fun _cat_nap," _he mewed cleverly, receiving his usual prize – a scowl from Sasuke. _"Later." _And with that, he jumped out of the window, forgetting completely to tell Sakura he was going outside. Sasuke noticed this, but wasn't too concerned as he drifted to sleep.


	2. Lovely time for a storm

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Sasuke-chan and Naruto-chan... I don't even own the idea of them being _turned into animals_! But I do own the plot in this fan fiction, thank God.

**Author's Note: **Now, looking onto this fan fiction, I'm so pleased with it. Not only because it's a great fan fiction and using a concept already used commonly in an advantage, but I was also comparing it to how I used to write in the past, and gosh darn it, I sucked in the past. "The Grandma petted the cat. The cat purred happily. The cat and the grandma lived happily ever after." LULZ!! WHAT THE HELL... As you can see, I write much better. I know the part where Naruto's running somewhere in this chapter sounds a lot like that, but it actually makes sense if the sentences are choppy like that. It builds the drama.

WARNING: CHAPTER IS EXTREMELY ANGSTY. Those of you afraid of angst, RUN AWAY!! It wasn't under the category "angst" for nothin', ya know. ;3

**Speech:** "When any character talks". _"When there's either multiple people talking, or when it's a flashback, or, if it isn't either, it's someone talking in another language (animal speak ftw)"_. _Thoughts, or flashbacks_. Any word that is _italicized _specifically is emphasized. **"Kyuubi is speaking"**. **_Kyuubi is thinking_**. _'Naruto is talking directly to Kyuubi'_. "**Naruto is speaking, but he sounds like Kyuubi**". I never make any words bold if I want to emphasize them – emphasis is only on italicized or fully capitalized words. Any words that are in thoughts or italicized speech that are emphasized are emphasized by removing the italics.

--

_A Black Cat, a Fox, and One Hell of a Story_

_Chapter The Second.:._

_Lovely time for a storm_

It was quite a few hours before Sasuke drifted awake again, blinking his cat eyes, allowing them to absorb the light from the kitchen. His great ears picked up the sound of shifting silverware and frantic movements. The black cat rolled his head back and made a giant yawn. He arched his back in a stretch, his claws carefully rolling in between sheathed and unsheathed, before finally ending his stretch and leaping off the couch. _Bored, _was certainly the first thought as he padded into Sakura's dining room, watching her nonchalantly as she scrambled about, searching for something. He meowed to get her attention.

"Oh hey, Sasuke-kun," Sakura said, pausing to look at him. She didn't sound nearly as enthusiastic about seeing him as usual, which weirded him out. "Have you seen Naruto?"

Sasuke pondered for a second, then remembered that the fox kit had jumped out of the window to play outside. He was about to say, _"He went outside," _but remembered he couldn't speak. Instead, he pointed a paw to the window.

Sakura gasped, eyes widening. "He went _outside_?" she whispered in horror, and Sasuke nodded, not getting the big deal. "Oh Goddammit, this is bad," she said in a horribly guilty voice. Sasuke tilted his head in confusion. Sakura noticed this. "You don't know?" Sasuke shook his head. Then what Sakura said next scared him. "Sasuke-kun... while you were asleep, a storm started to brew, and I heard thunder... I think a terrible storm is coming."

Sasuke didn't wait for her to say any more. He sped back into the living room, running as fast as a bullet, before hopping onto the couch, using it and its back as stairs to the window. He heard her startled cry and her desperate calling of his name, but he shut her out. He leaped through the window, only one thing scrambling in his mind: _Naruto, where the hell are you!? ... Are you okay?_

--

He kept running. Even though he's slow, he knew the storm was coming. But his paws kept forcing him toward the forest instead of toward Sakura's house. He could hear them laughing. He could feel himself crying, tears streaming down his cheeks. He could feel the blood stinking his pelt from fresh wounds. But he didn't stop. Because that was what he learned to do for all those years, albeit he wasn't afraid.

Or was he?

The little fox kit stumbled blindly in the cold, into the forest, well aware that rain was falling rapidly and spilling itself amongst his pelt. The water mixed with the blood from his wounds but didn't stop him from bleeding and didn't stop the blood from spilling. _Dammit, dammit, dammit! _His paws ached like hell, and for all he knew, he could be bleeding from them too. But he didn't stop. He just kept running. He had always kept running, ever since he had been young. Ever since those days...

_"Bakemono!" they had yelled at him, throwing sticks at the young boy, as well as stones. "Monster! Get the hell out!" He had scrambled out of the way, running as fast as his little legs could carry him. He just kept running, even though his feet really ached, and probably even bled. He didn't know why; he just had to flash out of there, running, running from those people that had always bullied him, and attempted to murder him. He wasn't afraid of them, and dared them to keep hitting him._

_And he always forgave them, that's what they say made him special. He said that was his weakness._

_Nothing stopped him from his run. Whenever he ran, he didn't stop unless he found shelter, unless he was away from them, unless he could no longer see them whenever he looked over his back. He did stumble once in the mud, but he knew they were still following him, still wanting to kill him and hit him like they did every day, so he just got up and kept running. By now he was bloody all over, everything was hurting and he even felt tears gracing his eyes and swimming down his cheeks. But he never stopped running._

_When deep in the forest, he stopped, merely to catch his breath. He was very tired, and his legs burned like as if they were in a fire, and he was scathed all over himself with marks that were easily visible. But, though he stopped here, it wouldn't be his camp permanently. He'd move again, he'd run as fast as he could again, because he knew they were still coming. He had to defy his luck, because he needed to live. He needed to live so he could show them eventually, and he'd live to forgive them again, to teach them the lessons that they needed._

_And once his breath was caught, once he felt that his lungs were filled again, he continued running. And he heard their voices behind him, but he wouldn't stop. He just kept running. Perhaps he was running from fear. But he felt that he was running from fate._

It was just like then now, except for he couldn't run for nearly as long. He was smaller, so he could run faster, but he couldn't run for as long since his legs were shorter thanks to his small fox-height. But he didn't let this get to him, because as before, when he was tired, when he was worn out, he'd just keep running. He felt his speed decreasing; he couldn't have this. He sped up, putting more muscle into his aching limbs, and just kept running as fast as he could pull his fox self there. Perhaps he was a fox now, not the human he had been before, and thus he had less weight to pull but required more force to pull something, anyway. He wouldn't let these hindrances stop him. Because he was just a runner, probably like _Konoha's Yellow Flash_, the one that they had all heard about.

He suddenly slipped in the mud again, this time his legs aching so much that he couldn't even get back up. He lay in the mud, his face touching it, and at the same time feeling blood leak from him every second. If he didn't move, he'd die. Rain continued to pour down, and soon, lightning made its presence known by flashing in the air. Thunder roared for attention, and Naruto could've sworn he heard it say, _"Keep going, fox kit." _But maybe that was just his imagination.

His blue eyes stared, staring into the trees in front of him. He thought he heard those voices again, the voices of the people that had been chasing him. He heard the pitter patter of rain, and also saw the ground move with sprinkles of water. It glowed in his eyes. He hardly cared.

The sky was dark, and the shadows grew so even the forest was a dark and foreboding place. Not one to be swallowed by the shadows, the darkness, Naruto shoved his black paws onto the ground again, pushing onto the mud-covered ground so he could lift back up to those paws. He hissed as they shot pain up to his legs, but he still tried to get up. He found himself extremely tired, and couldn't get up much. But he still tried. And the fox kit succeeded for a bit, as he finally staggered back up to his paws. And not even wasting time celebrating, he started to run again.

The run continued to push him further and deeper into the forest. He was now hopelessly lost. And now, he regretted ever running. Running from fate, running from the shadows, as now he was running into their clutches. He tried to turn around, but he saw more trees, and saw more shadows trying to swallow him up. He was surrounded, and there was no way out. He wanted to go back, go back to Konoha. But it was too late, he was too gone lost. Finally, exhaustion _forced _him to give up, by the only way possible: the world turned black.

--

Sasuke fell to the ground, his paws allowing him to be right and upright on the side of Sakura's house. If Sasuke wasn't colorblind, he would've scoffed at the colors on the outside of the house; as it was, though, that wasn't his primary concern.

_Where was Naruto?_

He felt rain. When Sasuke looked up at the sky, the clouds were dark and huddled around the sun, not allowing the sun to spread its arms of warmth over the world. Sasuke cursed under his breath; it looked like he'd be walking out in a storm. Not more than five steps forward was he stopped by someone, and he knew immediately who this someone was.

"Hi there, Sasuke-kun!"

_Lee._

Sasuke stumbled backward, hissing and spitting angrily. He then noticed that Rock Lee wasn't alone; to his right was Kiba, and to his left was Shino. Sasuke looked up to Kiba, and then his brilliant mind worked up something awesome: Kiba understood dog language! Perhaps he could understand cats and foxes as well? Their languages weren't that different.

"Oi, Sasuke, we heard the news," Kiba said. "You're a cat now, right?"

_"I told you he was emo," _Akamaru said. Sasuke blinked in surprise; he had understood what that dog said! Then he hissed. Akamaru only laughed. _"See, he's all black and hissing."_

"Shh, Akamaru, that's mean," Kiba told him fiercely. Akamaru shut up.

"What did he say, Kiba-kun?" Lee asked, peering at Kiba curiously.

"Well, he was making fun of Sasuke."

_"I have no time for that!" _Sasuke hissed at the each of them, practically a yowl. It was enough to get their attention. _"I'm not out here to meet you idiots." _He rolled his eyes.

"Then why _are _you out here?" Kiba asked. Sasuke felt a shimmering hope. Kiba could understand him! Kiba sensed this. "Yes, I _can _understand you. Dogs and cats are a lot alike, even though they hate the other's guts."

_"Good, 'cause I would hate to waste effort trying to explain this to you while you _don't _understand me," _Sasuke smirked, his voice a bit of laughing and sarcasm. Akamaru and Kiba rolled their eyes, but stopped when they saw Sasuke's voice go serious and his cat jaw tighten. _"I'm not out here for no reason. I don't have time to chat with you idly. I need to find Naruto."_

"Naruto?" Kiba blinked. Shino and Lee both looked to Kiba curiously, Lee with more emphasis on his curiosity. Akamaru looked just as confused as Kiba did. "Why do you need to find Naruto? I thought Sakura was taking care of you both."

_"Well, she _was_," _Sasuke hissed, obviously very impatient and tense. Akamaru and Kiba both rolled their eyes at how impatient he was being. _"But Naruto ran off. And as you can see, there's a storm coming, and this is only the beginning of it. It'll only get worse from here."_

Just as Sasuke said that, a flash of lightning lighted the sky and Akamaru whimpered, the little dog hiding in his master's shirt. The cat thought angrily, _Dammit, stop getting worse, you stupid storm! _Then, even those who couldn't understand him as he spoke could see the emotion clearly written on his face: great panic. Usually the guy was nonchalant, but he was so panicked here it reminded Kiba of a trapped animal.

Kiba's eyes widened, which made Lee and Shino start to dread. They knew something was wrong; Sasuke was losing his cool, and Kiba knew exactly what he was saying as well. After a dreadfully long silence, Kiba screeched, "Naruto is _out in this fucking storm_!?" This surprised them all; nobody had heard Kiba curse worse than the word "damn". "He's gonna get killed! He's only a fox! Why did he fucking run away!?"

Sasuke avoided his eyes, obviously very troubled. _"I don't know," _he whispered, his voice sincere. Lightning thrashed out in the sky, trying to tear a rift. _"He wanted to go outside... I didn't know there was going to be a storm. That is, until I woke up and Sakura told me."_

"So this is all _your _fault!?" Kiba snapped, which made Sasuke snap his head to him, eyes wide. Then, Kiba was surprised when Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

_"Listen here, bub!" _he hissed, slightly scaring Akamaru with how cold his voice sounded. Lee and Shino, having followed Kiba's side of the conversation, knew exactly what was going on: Naruto was missing. And now Sasuke was scolding Kiba. _"I ordinarily wouldn't go out in a fucking damn storm this huge for some stupid damn argument! I'm out here to rescue my best friend, and I am well aware that I have made a terrible mistake in being so careless in letting him out here! However, that doesn't fucking matter anymore, because he's gonna die, and not only because of the storm, but because the villagers seem to know! Th... they know that he's Naruto, and they keep bullying him!" _At this, Kiba's eyes widened. _"Now if you want to keep pointing fingers at me, then go ahead, bastard! But I'm not going to let my best friend die out there over a stupid little argument such as this one!" _And with that, Sasuke ran. He dug his claws into the earth, and then ran, toward the forest, the place he knew for sure Naruto would've headed.

Sasuke certainly wasn't aware that he was leaving a jaw-dropped, open-mouthed Kiba, with a whimpering Akamaru, in his wake. Lee and Shino looked at Kiba with concern, Lee more than Shino. "Are you okay, Kiba-kun?" he asked, snapping Kiba out of his trance.

"I think we shouldn't be so concentrated on Kiba," Shino said wisely. "Sasuke just took off for the forest. Possibly to get Naruto, right, Kiba?"

"Y-Yeah... he did," Kiba said after a long pause, trying to get his bearings together. "He just told me off about how stupid I was blaming him for Naruto running away."

_"I guess he was right," _Akamaru whimpered, making Kiba look to him in surprise. _"If we were _true _friends, we wouldn't be blaming other friends for something that Naruto did. We would be trying our best to help Naruto." _

"Akamaru..." Kiba sighed. He then looked to Lee and Shino. "Shino... do you have a plan?"

Shino looked a bit surprised, but then shifted his shades coolly after recovering, quite quickly I'd admit. "Yes, I do," Shino said calmly. "Lee, you should go find Gai. Don't question me; just do it. I'll tell you why later."

Lee was taken aback, but decided to follow, saluting. "Aye aye, Shino-kun!" And with that, he ran in a flash in the direction he last saw Gai take off.

Shino then looked to Kiba and Akamaru. "I won't be needing you two until the rain clears," he said gently. Kiba and Akamaru nodded. "But once the rain _does _clear, I want you two to track them down with your noses. I would ordinarily summon my bugs right now, but they hate rain, and rightly so."

"R-Right, Shino," Kiba stammered, feeling goofy as he put on the same salute as Lee.

"Now, get some rest. It may be some long travel."

"What do we do about Sasuke?"

Shino looked at Kiba with steady eyes. "I know how well Sasuke can handle his own, even if he is a cat. Let him be. I'm sure that he'll take care of Naruto while we're unable to help them."

"R-Right." _Dammit, why am I still stammering? Is it because I'm afraid after that yell Sasuke gave me? Or maybe it's because it sounds so damn much like Naruto..._

--

When Sasuke entered the forest, it seemed to swallow him up in its endless expanses. He felt a shivering cold as he braved through the storm. It was very wet, and the ground beneath his paws squished under pressure. His tail was once again moving on its own accord. But when he wanted it to move with his consent, he didn't find it too hard; he just wanted to focus everything in moving forward, not on his tail. Water dripped down his sides and he found that it felt really uncomfortable being wet.

He looked to shadows, and for some reason, he knew the way they were pointing. And he knew who they were pointing at. Sasuke looked back. The forest had closed him in. They were really deep in the forest. _Naruto, you really ran far... _Sighing, he trudged through the raining and the falling of water as the sky seemed to be crying. The wind picked up, hissing in his ear, telling him to turn back. But Sasuke continued, because he could never abandon his friend.

The shadows continued to creep over Sasuke, making him shiver. It seemed as if the forest were closing up on him, not allowing him to go back. The wind kept hissing at him to turn back, to abandon, while the forest was leaving an opening. But Sasuke didn't let this bother him. He dug his claws into the mud, the rain hitting his face and blowing him backwards. When the wind changed direction, Sasuke seized the opportunity by running with the wind – running as fast as he possibly could.

This felt so much like the day when he realized his dearest brother had killed his parents...

_Sasuke felt like crying inside. The Mangekyou Sharingan had showed him everything, every single scream that his beloved family ever uttered, and made the houses seem dark and hollow. Sasuke fell to the ground, crying in agony, clutching his chest where his heart was, supposedly. He had lost everything, and he was alone now._

_Itachi had seen him snap out of the trance, screaming and crying desperately. "Now do you see, little brother?" he asked, going to Sasuke, looking at him with emotionless, black eyes. For the first time in a while, they were not blood red with Sharingan, but they were still as emotionless and cold as ever._

_Sasuke looked up at Itachi. "Why?" the foolish little boy had choked in a sad voice, that seemed to have a rift torn in his heart. "Why did you do this to them!?"_

_Itachi stared at him while Sasuke mourned his dead family, holding the back of his head. Then, Itachi put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder, quite a bit roughly. "They were unnecessary, necessary sacrifices," he hissed in Sasuke's ear. "Run now. Save your puny little life, and grow stronger. Then, keep hating me. Once your hate grows powerful enough, try to gain your vengeance. Leave me now. You're too pathetic to kill."_

Sasuke gritted his cat teeth, his fangs mashing together to a perfect fit. He slowed his run, and he felt fury crawl itself deep in his mind, embedding into his head. He wouldn't lose everything again. He wouldn't lose Naruto, goddammit! He would save him from the storm! He would! He would!

And this inspired him all the more to run, and keep running, following the shadows as they pointed the direction to where he knew they wanted to lead.

And that's what made him freeze, when he saw something lying in the mud after a lot of running, his black, muddied paws aching; he saw a fox, who wasn't moving.

--

Dread stuck to Sasuke's pelt as he slowly approached Naruto's non-moving body. He nosed him. No movement.

Lightning ripped its yellow claws through the air, tearing the sky in its clutches. Thunder roared in protest. The rain fell on Sasuke's fur like bullets and rolled down his fur like as if he was trying to free himself from chains made of lead. This was no time to dwell; he needed shelter. But he wasn't willing to leave the fox behind. Thinking fast, he picked up Naruto's scruff in his jaws and slung his arm over Sasuke's shoulders. He kept a tight but non-threatening hold on Naruto's scruff as he trudged through the storm. Sasuke had seen a tree nearby with loose roots, which meant they could go under the tree for shelter. The question was where the tree was at that moment.

Then, like magic, the tree appeared in front of him after wandering the mud so much. The black cat dashed for it, making sure he still had Naruto in his grip. Sasuke reached its roots and dug a hole near the front, entering that very hole by scraping frantically inside.

It was dry in these roots, and the dryness made it warmer than the entrance. The soft soil underneath his paws made it a perfect place to rest. Aside from the little hill going up from the entrance, they were surrounded by the tree. The top made it look like a cave. The pitter-patter of rain was muffled by the tree's roots. The rain could only barely slip in through the entrance, and since the space was rather huge, back away a little bit and the rain didn't hit them.

Sasuke set Naruto on the soil gently, letting go of his scruff near the ground. Sasuke then went about to grooming himself, bathing himself with his tongue, the water extremely uncomfortable as it continued to cling to his fur.

_"Sas... uke..." _said a tiny voice. Sasuke immediately stopped grooming himself and whipped around to see Naruto, his eyes closed, paws twitching, and his chest rising and falling with his breathing. Sighing in relief, Sasuke padded closer to his friend to listen to what he was about to say. _"I'm... sorry..."_

_"What are you apologizing for?" _Sasuke asked, nosing Naruto into a sitting position. _"And at least sit up. I can't hear you if you're mumbling to the ground."_

Naruto tried to sit up, but ended up almost collapsing on his right side. Sasuke swooped in like a raven and caught Naruto's head with his shoulder. Sasuke himself sat up, letting Naruto lean on him. The poor guy couldn't support his own weight. Naruto opened his eyes. _"F-For running," _he whispered, trying his best to make his voice strong, but failing. _"I didn't m-mean to worry you and Sakura-chan."_

_"Damn you, Naruto," _Sasuke hissed. What surprised him is that Naruto didn't seem startled by those words. Sasuke spoke again, his voice soft: _"You're so worried about us that you aren't even worried about yourself. Even if you had gone back to Sakura's, we still would've worried; you were bleeding like a stuck pig. If it weren't for that Kyuubi of yours, you'd be bleeding all over my ski – I mean fur."_

_"Like that matters." _Naruto's eyes closed.

Sasuke's fur bristled, and he almost moved abruptly away from Naruto, if he hadn't remembered that doing so may injure Naruto further, and that was the _last _thing he wanted to happen. _"It DOES matter – to us, at least!" _he hissed fiercely. After a few moments of agonizing silence, Sasuke spoke again, his voice calmer: _"We're your friends, Naruto, and we worry about you. You're even like a brother to me. Don't you _dare _forget that." _Sasuke started to have a hard time keeping his voice calm. _"I didn't go through that damn storm for no reason. And I didn't drag your ass to safety for no reason, either."_

Naruto's eyes opened, and he laughed, if not a bit bitterly. _"I thought you were a heartless bastard," _he mewed weakly, his eyes filled with laughter.

Sasuke brightened as he heard some of the fox kit's old personality return. _"Well, I was," _he admitted, smirking. _"But that was _before _I befriended you, and the Land of Waves proves that."_

At the mention of the Land of Waves, both parties fell completely silent, just watching as the rain started to tap harder on the tree and started to lash out more. At the sound of thunder, Sasuke felt Naruto leap and saw him hit the roots of the tree, leaning against it weakly. He was still unable to support himself, which was weird since he usually got back up on his feet on his own. He weighed less now and he had four legs; couldn't he get up?

Suddenly, Naruto lifted to his four paws, trying his best to stay on them, limping around the inside of the tree roots. His voice was very serious when he spoke again. _"I can't be weak and hinder you much longer," _he hissed, clenching his teeth in slight muscle pain. Sasuke watched him, eyes widening at his words. _"I always seemed to be the weakest in the team who succeeded in the littlest. I couldn't forget when Kaka-sensei told us about how low my scores were. I was pissed, as you could've seen. And I'm still pissed off about it now."_

Sasuke got up to his own black paws, walking over to Naruto and walking around him so he could face him. He looked into those deep, blue eyes; they were always laughing eyes, always bright. Even now, when he was being totally serious, his eyes were bright with determination. Maybe it was just their sky blue color, but this little black cat thought it was something much more special than that. Naruto always seemed to brighten a room no matter how dark and scary it was. He was afraid of paranormal, yes, but he wouldn't back down from a fight if he felt that his friends needed him, such that he was doing now. _"Look, Naruto, we recognize you, even though you may be a bit sl..."_

_"You don't understand, Sasuke," _Naruto interrupted, looking at Sasuke, his eyes filling with more determination that Sasuke had ever seen anybody have in their eyes. Then, to both of their dismays, Naruto's vision was blurring with wetness; tears. He took a paw, and swiped it across his face, causing him to fall sideways. Once again, Sasuke caught his fall, this time with his back. Naruto stood up again. _"I had trained... so hard," _Naruto continued, his voice wracked with emotion. Ordinarily Sasuke would interrupt this and say that his training was succeeding, but some force in the voice told him to listen to the whole story. _"Like, I would pull weights up every day. And yet I failed. Thrice. In the Academy. The Genin exams... the most important exams, that would determine if I would ever become a shinobi. Maybe it was because I was always on the run and I wasn't able to get stronger because my legs just kept running, as they always have." _At this, Sasuke backed away from Naruto. It was true; Naruto ran quite a lot, mostly to get away from the people that made fun of him. _"I want to get stronger. I want to grow independent. But... Sasuke, please don't interpret this as me not appreciating your help, or not wanting to be your friend... it's just that, I don't want to be needing protection. Especially after all that the villagers have done to me... I have to prove I'm worthy of being Hokage!"_

Sasuke was shocked by Naruto's inspirational words. But they were all true, the truest of words that Sasuke probably would've uttered if he were in Naruto's position. At this, Sasuke nosed Naruto's shoulder to get his attention. _"All right," _he finally meowed, in a tone of acceptance. _"I can guarantee you, that you are not defenseless. However, you _will _be if you keep pushing yourself. Now relax."_

Naruto looked to Sasuke, and groaned in complaint, but then he lay on the soil, staring out of the entrance. Sasuke lay next to him, the two giving each other warmth. It was quite cold. Naruto's eyes became entranced by the rain. _"All right, Sasuke," _he whispered. _"But as soon as the rain stops, we'll go. Though I like the rain. And I like running in it. It gives me a thrill that plain air doesn't give me."_


End file.
